The Magic exercised their third-year team option on forward Paolo Banchero, as well as their fourth-year team options on guard Jalen Suggs and forward Franz Wagner for the 2024-25 season, league sources told the Sentinel on Wednesday morning.
This means all three players are now signed through next season and their salaries based on their rookie-scale contracts are guaranteed.
The franchise later confirmed the Sentinel’s reporting, announcing they’d exercised the options for Banchero, Suggs and Wagner.
The options for Banchero, Suggs and Wagner being picked up shouldn’t come as a surprise. Last October, Orlando exercised its third-year options on Suggs and Wagner, and earlier in the year, drafted Banchero No. 1 overall.
The Magic had an Oct. 31 deadline to exercise the team options for all three.
Suggs, the No. 5 pick in 2021, has averaged 10.8 points, 3.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.25 steals in 101 regular season games (64 starts). He spoke with the Sentinel at Magic Media Day on Monday and shared what he would consider a successful season for himself.
“For me, [it] looks like me coming in every day and being my best self — not only on the court but off the court,” he said. “Bringing energy and really being an uplifting figure in this facility and in the locker room. If I do that everyday with the work I’ve been putting in on the court that will come, I can look at myself in the mirror at night and say I had a positive day.”
Wagner, selected three spots after Suggs, has appeared and started in 159 career regular season games. He’s averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists and earned a spot on the 2021-22 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Over the summer, joined by his brother Moe Wagner, Franz helped Germany capture a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines.
“Super special experience,” the Magic forward said Monday about his time overseas. “It still hasn’t really registered, honestly. I learned a lot playing in really important games.
“Not everything is going to go your way but how you respond and win those close games — it was a really important experience for me.”
Banchero became the franchise’s third player to win Rookie of the Year when he averaged a team-high 20 points to go with 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 72 starts.
A unanimous selection to the 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie First Team, Banchero told the Sentinel he is aiming to become an all-star while leading Orlando back to the postseason.
“Last year being a rookie and feeling my way through the league, there were some nights where I took some bad shots and I could have gotten something better for sure,” he said. “I was able to go back and watch all of that stuff to see how I can improve.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.
![Magic rookie Anthony Black made his fourth start Tuesday night against the Nets. His teammates have noticed his confidence on the court. "I do like [that] he's got a little feistiness to him," Orlando center Moe Wagner said. "He talks a little smack sometimes which I like."](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Magic-Nets-Basketball.jpg?w=525 "Magic rookie Anthony Black made his fourth start Tuesday night against the Nets. His teammates have noticed his confidence on the court. \"I do like [that] he's got a little feistiness to him,\" Orlando center Moe Wagner said. \"He talks a little smack sometimes which I like.\"")
